（二）
上海是海外游客来中国旅游的必到之地。在这个商业中心，游客们可以欣赏到千姿百态的建筑群，雄伟壮丽的外滩（riverside Bund ）, 灯火辉煌的商店和极富魅力的博物馆。上海白天喧嚣繁忙（bustle ），到了晚上，人们在夜生活场所尽情享受。作为一座国际大都市（metropolis ），上海可以为不同的旅游者呈现出不同的画面。它既是中国主要的购物城市，又是休闲旅游者的天堂（paradise ）。
参考译文
Shanghai is a must on any agenda for foreign visitors having a tour of China. In the heart of his commercial center visitors will find elegant building, the imposing riverside Bund, glittering shops and malls, and fascinating museums. Shanghai bustles by day and lives life to the full by night in some of China’s best night spots. As an international metropolis, Shanghai presents different pictures for visitors with different purposes. It is known as the leading shopping capital of China, a paradise for leisure and pleasure for tourists.
(二十九)
中国功夫，也叫“武术”，是中国人民在长期的历史发展中创造的运动项目。估计中国武术的起源可以追溯到原始社会（the primitive society）。那时的人类用棍棒作为武器抵御野生动物，获得了一些防守和进攻经验，在商代（the Shang Dynasty ），围场狩猎（field hunting ）应运而生，并被视为武术训练的重要途径。商周（Shang and Zhou Dynasties）时期，武术是一种舞蹈形式。“功夫舞蹈”（martial dance）是用来训练士兵，鼓舞士气（morale ）的。据说，华佗创造的“五禽戏”（Five Animals Play）是中华武术的起源。
参考译文
Chinese Kungfu, also called “martial art”, is a sport item created by the Chinese people during a long time of historical development. It is generally estimated that the origin of Chinese martial arts can be traced back to the primitive society. At that time human beings fought wild animals with clubs as their weapon, and thus acquired some experience on defense and attack. In the Shang Dynasty field hunting came into being and was further regarded as an important way of martial art training. During the period of Shang and Zhou Dynasties, martial art was a form of dancing. “Martial dance” was used to train the soldiers and boost their morale. It is said that the “Five Animals Play” first created by Hua Tuo is the origin of Chinese martial arts.
(三十一)
传统的中国绘画是一门独特的美术（fine art），无论是风格还是技巧都与世界其他艺术门类迥然不同。中国人绘画采用毛笔（brush ）蘸墨汁或颜料，灵巧地挥洒（wield ）于纸上。画家用深、浅、浓、淡的点（dot ）和线构成一幅图画。在优秀画家的手里，毛笔和墨汁非常具有表现力，它们不仅是绘画的工具，也是画家艺术追求的象征。与水墨画相比，宫廷画（palace painting）注重细腻的画法、细节的描绘，以及丰富的色彩（elaborate coloring）。 参考译文
Traditional Chinese paintings constitute a unique school of fine art, a school that, in style and techniques is vastly different from any other fine art school in the world. The Chinese do paintings with brushes, dipping their brushes in ink or paint and then skillfully wielding them. Painters produce on the paper pictures with lines and some heavy, and some light, some deep, and some pale dots. In the hands of a good painter, brushes and ink can be highly expressive. Because of this, they are seemed not only as tools for drawing pictures, but also as a symbol of
artistic pursuit. In comparison to ink and wash painting, the palace paintings pay attention to fine brushwork, details and elaborate coloring.
（三十九）
中国服饰不仅是随着时间演变，还经常随着朝代的更替或者新统治者的圣旨（the imperial decree ）而发生巨大变化。在古代的封建社会（feudal society），人们的登记等级和地位，尤其是普通人还是上层社会的人，可以轻松地通过日常衣物区分开来。上层统治阶级中，只有皇帝可以穿黄色，而且传统的龙袍上有龙的图案。尽管现在没有“典型的”中国服装，但是如果一定要选一种“中国性”的服装，那就是旗袍（Cheongsam ）。旗袍之所以流行是因为它非常适合中国女性的身材，线条简单，看起来优雅，四季都可以穿，老少皆宜，长短皆可。 参考译文
Clothing in China did not only evolve over time; it often transformed dramatically following dynastic changes or the imperial decree of a new ruler. In ancient feudal society, people’s rank and position could easily be distinguished from their daily dress, especially for the ordinary people and upper-class. Among the upper dominating class, only the Emperor can dress in yellow and the dragon patterns are embroidered on traditional Chinese imperial dress. Although there is no “typical” Chinese costume today, if we must choose one style of clothing epitomizes “Chineseness”, it would be the Cheongsam. It’s popular because it fits Chinese females’ figures well, has simple lines and looks elegant; it is suitable for wearing in all seasons by young or old and can either be long or short.
（二十八）
七夕节（Double Seventh Festival ），阴历七月七日，是一个充满浪漫的传统节日。这个节日是在盛夏（mid-summer ）, 正当天气暖和，草和树郁郁葱葱（luxurious green ）。晚上，当天空点缀着（dot ）星星的时候，人们可以看到银河系（Milky Way）从北跨越到南。在银河的两边各有一颗明亮的星星遥遥相望。他们就是牛郎（Cowherd ）和织女（Weaver Maid），关于他们，有一个美丽的爱情故事代代相传。
参考译文
The Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival full of romance. This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which sees each other from afar. They are the Cowherd and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation.
（二十九）
象征幸福的圆圆的甜甜的汤圆（dumpling ）是在元宵节（Lantern Festival ）吃的传统食物。现在，在中国这些汤圆也是一种流行的甜点。汤圆有两种：一种是由白糖和红糖（brown sugar）、带香甜味的桂花（osmanthus ）、坚果（nut ）和芝麻（sesame seed）做的；另一种有肉和蔬菜馅料（fillings ）。目前，为追求真正独特的口味(flavor)，中国人已经开始在汤圆中加入巧克力，尽管传统上是煮汤圆，但油炸甜汤圆越来越受欢迎。
参考译文
Round sweet dumplings traditionally are eaten for happiness on the Lantern Festival. Today these dumplings also are a popular dessert in China, and come in two varieties: one is made of white and brown sugar, sweet-scented osmanthus, nuts and sesame seeds; the other has meat and vegetable fillings. Recently Chinese have begun adding chocolate for a truly unique flavor; even though boiled dumplings are traditional, fried sweet dumplings are becoming popular.
尊老爱幼(respecting the aged and loving the young)是中华民族的传统美德。千年以来，人们总是把这点看作是社会责任和行为规范(behavioral norm)。战国时期(the Warring States Period)的孟子(Mencius)说过，老吾老以及人之老，幼吾幼以及人之幼。在中国，那些忽视这些道德原则(tenet)的人不仅会被公众批评，还会被法律制裁。
参考译文
Respecting the aged and loving the young is a traditional Chinese virtue. For thousands of years, people have always considered it a social responsibility and behavioral norm. Mencius in the Warring States Period said that one should respect the elderly relatives of other people as one’s own, and take good care of other’s children as one’s own. In China, those who ignore these moral tenets will not only be criticized by the public, but also be punished by law.
(三十四)
黄河（the Yellow River）是中华文明和中华民族的摇篮（cradle ），所以又被称作“母亲河”。黄河长达5464公里，是中国第二大河。黄河的平均流量为每年48亿立方米，还不到长江的1/20。传说，这条河里的一条龙给中国人民带来笔画（stroke ），以后发展为汉字（Chinese character ）。然而，黄河也是中国的伤心事，因为其灾害性灾难性的洪水造成无数人死亡。强大的洪水经常改变河道（course of the river）。
参考译文
The cradle of Chinese civilization and the Chinese race, the Yellow River is called the Mother River. The Yellow River is 5,464 km in length and is the second largest River in China. The average volume of the flow of the Yellow River, 48 billion cubic meters each year, is not more than one-twentieth of the Yangtze’s. Legend has it that a dragon from the river brought to the Chinese the strokes from which the Chinese characters developed. However, the Yellow River is known as China’s sorrow because it has caused countless deaths through its devastating floods. The powerful floods have often changed the course of the river.
(十二)
中国是茶的故乡。据说早在五六千年前，中国就有了茶树(tea-shrub)，而且有关茶树的人类种植历史可以追溯(date back) 到两千年前。来自中国的茶和丝绸、瓷器(porcelain)一样，在1000年前为世界所知，而且一直是中国重要的出口产品。目前世界上40多个国家种植茶，其中亚洲国家的产量占世界总产量(total output)的90%。其他国家的茶树都直接或间接地起源于(origin in)中国。
参考译文
China is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China has tea plants-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of tea plants can date back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world’s total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. (十五)
景德镇，中国瓷都(ceramic metropolis) ，是世界世界瓷器艺术花园的耀眼明珠。它位于长江南部，是江南一个有活力的(powerful)城镇。它制造瓷器(porcelain)的历史已经有1700多年，已经形成了丰富的瓷器文化传统。稀有的瓷器文物(ceramic relics) ，一流的瓷器工艺，独特的瓷器风俗习俗，瓷乐器的优雅表演，以及优美的田园风光(rural scenery)组成了景德镇特别的旅游文化，而且让景德镇成为中国唯一一个以瓷器文化为特色的旅游城市。
Jingdezhen known as the ceramic metropolis of china is a brilliant pearl in the world’s art garden of ceramics. It is located on the south of the Yangtze River as a powerful town on the south of the Yangtze River. It has a porcelain making history of over 1700 years, which has been crystallized into its rich cultural tradition of ceramics. Rare ceramic relics, superb ceramic craftsmanship, unique ceramic customs, graceful performance of ceramic musical instruments and beautiful rural scenery make up the peculiar tourist culture of Jingdezhen and hence make Jingdezhen the only Chinese tourist city featuring ceramic culture.
(十八)
在传统的中国家庭文化中，同一祖先的几代后裔(descendants)居住在一起，形成一个大家庭。这种自治(autonomous)家族制度是中国传统社会的基本的单位。中国的孩子们跟随(follow)他们父亲的姓。这和西方文化一样的。如今在中国，孩子跟父亲姓或母亲姓在法律上都是合法的(legal)。除了那些因为结婚加入到家庭中的人以外，人们的姓氏都是一样的。 参考译文
In traditional Chinese family culture, descendants of several generations from the same ancestor lived together and formed a big family system. This kind of autonomous family system was the basic unit of traditional Chinese society. Chinese children follow their father’s family name. This is the same as western culture. Nowadays in China it is legal for a child tot follow either father’s fami ly name or mother’s family name. Within each family system, of course people except those who joined this family system through marriage all have the same family name.
(二十七)
元宵节(Lantern Festival)是在阴历的(lunar)一月十五日。早在西汉时期，它已经成为具有重要意义的节日。猜灯笼“谜语”(riddle)是节日的核心部分(essential part)。灯笼的主人会将谜语写在一张纸条上并贴在灯笼上。如果游客想到了谜语的答案，他们就将纸条拿下来去灯笼的主人那里查看答案。如果他们答对了，就会得到一份小礼品礼物。这项活动最早出现在宋代。因为谜语猜谜集趣味和智慧于一身，它在社会各阶层(all society levels)都很流行。
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the 1st lunar month. As early as the Western Han Dyn asty, it had become a festival with great significance. Guessing lantern “riddles” is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answers. If they are right, they will get a small gift. The activity emerged in the Song Dynasty. As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social levels.
(三十三)
早在2500多年前，大概在春秋时代(the Spring and Autumn Period) ，中国就已经用土圭（sundial ）观测太阳的活动，测定出了冬至（the point of Winter Solstice），它是二十四节气中最早制订出的一个。这一天是北半球全年中白天最短、夜晚最长的一天。冬至后，白天会变得越来越长。在中国北方的一些地区，人们在这一天吃饺子汤，而其他一些地方的居民吃饺子，这样做将让他们在即将到来的冬天不受冻。但在中国的南方部分地区，一家人在一起吃红豆（red-bean ）和糯米（glutinous rice）煮的饭来驱赶鬼魂（ghost ）和其他邪恶的东西。 参考译文
As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), China had determined the point of Winter Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is the earliest instituted in the 24 seasonal division points. The Northern hemisphere on this day
experiences the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. In some parts of Northern China, people eat dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in some parts of South China, the whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things. (四十三)
中国是一个文化、语言、风俗和经济水平都很多样化的（diverse ）地方。经济格局尤其多样化。大城市如北京、广州和上海是现代化的，相对富裕的。然而，约50%的中国人仍然生活在农村地区，尽管中国只有10%土地是可耕地（arable land）。数百万农村居民仍然依靠体力劳动（manual labor ）或役畜（draft animal ）耕作。两三百万农民迁到城镇寻找工作。一般来说，南部和东部沿海地区比内陆地区更富有，西部和北部，以及西南部是非常不发达的地区。
参考译文
China is a very diverse place with large variations in culture, language, customs and economic levels. The economic landscape is particularly diverse. The major cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai are modern and comparatively wealthy. However, about 50% of Chinese still live in rural areas even though only 10% of China’s land is arable. Hundreds of millions of rural residents still farm with manual labor or draft animals. 200 to 300 million former peasants have migrated to town s and cities in search of work. Generally the southern and eastern coastal regions are wealthier while inland areas, the far west and north, and the southwest are much less developed.
(四十四)
吃饭时间，“你吃了吗？”是中国人最常用的问候语。不理解这种风俗的外国人会认为这是在邀请一起吃饭。但是，这仅仅是简单的问候，不是真的在发出邀请，所以可以回答“吃了，我吃饭了。”或者说“没有，我还没有吃。”除了“你吃了吗”，中文中海还有其他打招呼的方式，比如说“去哪儿？”、“忙吗”、“干什么呢？”、“去上班？”等等。我们可以发现中国人问候的时候喜欢问别人在做什么，做了什么，要做什么。
参考译文
“Have you eaten?” is a common greeting among Chinese when it is the time for a meal. Foreigners who don’t understand this kind of custom might regard this as an invitation to have a meal together. However, this is just a simple greeting, not a real invitation, so can reply with “Yes, I have eaten.” or “No, not yet.” In addition to “Have you eaten?”, there are many other expressions for saying hello in Chinese, like “ Where are you going?”, “Are you busy?”, “What are you doing?”, “Are you going to work?”, etc. We can find that when Chinese people greet each other, they like to ask about the things others are doing, just did or are going to do.
（九）
长江（Yangtze ）的长度超过6300公里，是中国最大最长的河流，仅次于非洲的尼罗河和南美洲的亚马逊河。它发源于格拉丹东雪峰(the snow-draped Gela Dandongdandong) 西南部的沱沱河(the Tuotuo River)，由西向东流经9个省和上海市，最后流入中国东海。长江自然风光优美，历史积淀深厚(profound accumulation) ，也是中国主要的旅游景点，在那里你可以欣赏到壮丽的三峡(Three Gorges)和宏伟的三峡大坝(Three Gorges Dam)等。
参考译文 Over 6,300 kilometers long, the mighty Yangtze is the largest and longest river in China, surpassed only by the Nile of Africa and the Amazon of South America. It originates from the Tuotuo River on the southwestern side of the snow-draped Gelad Dandong, flowing from west to
east through 9 provinces and city of Shanghai, finally running into the East China Sea. With superb natural scenery and profound historical accumulations, Yangtze River is also a main tourist attraction in China, where you can appreciate the magnificent Three Gorges and mighty Three Gorges Dam, etc.
（十）
清明是中国的二十四节气(the 24 seasonal division points in China)之一，每年4月4-6日。节日过后，温度将会上升，降雨量会增加。这正是春天耕作和播种的好时节。但是清明节不仅是一个指导农活的节气，还是一个纪念(commemoration) 的节日。每到清明节，所有的墓地(cemetery)都挤满了来扫墓(sweep the tomb) 和献祭的人。这一习俗现在已经大大简化了。稍稍清扫坟墓后，人们就拿出食物、鲜花和死者最喜爱的东西，然后烧香烧纸币，在墓碑牌位(the memorial tablet)前鞠躬。
参考译文 The Qingming Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work; it is more a festival of commemoration. On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.
（十一）
农历九月九日是传统的重阳节(Chongyang Festival) ，或者说是双九节。登高避邪(avoid epidemics) 的习俗从很久以前就流传(pass down) 下来。因此，重阳节也被称为“登高节”(Height Ascending Festival)。1989年，中国政府决定把重阳节定位老年节(Seniors’ Day) 。从那以后，所有政府单位、组织和街道社区每年都会为退休职工组织一次秋游。在水边或山间，老年人将发现自己融入(merge into)自然。年轻一代会在这一天带老人郊游或送礼物给他们。 参考译文 The 9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival. The custom of ascending a height to avoid epidemics was passed down from long time ago. Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival is also called “Height Ascending Festival”. In 1989, the Chinese government decided the Double Ninth Festival as Seniors’ Day. Since then, all government units, organizations and streets communities will organize an autumn trip each year for those who have retired from their posts. At the waterside or on the mountains, the seniors will find themselves merged into nature. Younger generations will bring elder ones to suburban areas or send gifts to them on this day.
（十二）
几个世纪以来，中国人在自然中寻求灵感(inspiration)和自我认知(self-knowledge)。因此，中国园林倡导回归自然世界。由于城市土地一直昂贵，中国城市的园林相对都比较小，但是每一个中国园林都致力于(devote to)让岩石、植物和水看起来比它实际上要更好，因为中国的园林设计师用巧妙的方式(clever way) 把游客从一个独特的有利视角(vantage point) 带到另一个有利视角。
参考译文 For centuries, the Chinese have sought inspiration and self-knowledge in nature. Hence, the gardens in China evoke the natural world. Because land has always been expensive in cities, urban China gardens are relatively small, but the space of every Chinese garden devoted to rocks, plants and water seems much greater than it actually is because of the clever ways in
which Chinese garden designers lead the visitor from one unique vantage point to another.
洛阳是地处中原的河南省西部一个地级市（prefecture-level city）。它东部毗邻省会郑州，南接南阳，西连三门峡（Sanmenxia ），北邻济源。在唐代（the Tang Dynasty），洛阳是东都（Dongdu ），即东部都城，其人口最多的时候有100万左右，仅次于当时世界上最大的城市——长安。在短暂的五代（Five Dynasties）时期，洛阳是后梁（Later Liang），后唐（Later Tang）和后晋（Later Jin ）的都城。北宋（North Song Dynasty ）时期，洛阳是西部都城，也是宋朝的建立者赵匡胤的出生地。
参考译文Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhenghzou to the east, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, and Jiyuan to the north. During the Tang Dynasty, Luoyang was Dongd u, the “Eastern Capital”, and as its height had a population of around one million, second only to Chang’an, which, at the time, was the largest city in the world. During the short-lived Five Dynasties, Luoyang was the capital of the later Liang, Later Tang and Later Jin. During the North Song Dynasty, Luoyang was t he “Western Capital” and birthplace of Zhao Kuangyin, the founder of Song Dynasty.
灵隐寺（Lingyin Temple ）位于浙江省杭州市西湖的西北部。它是江南著名古刹（ancient temple ）。该寺建于公元326年，有1600多年的历史。传说，印度一个叫作慧理的和尚（monk ）来到杭州，被这美丽的山区景色深深地吸引了。他认为这里有神佛（immortal ），所以建了一座庙宇，取名“灵隐”，意思是隐藏的灵魂。据说著名的济公和尚也是在这座寺庙皈依（take vows ）的，这使灵隐寺更加有名。